Or a trophy for bringing in a damaged/mechanically troubled plane and getting it on the ground without dying. Perhaps an overshot runway, for lack of brakes or a collapsed landing gear after touchdown. Hard to say for certain, BUT clearly this was a memento of military service. I don't know how equipped the local colleges are but one must have the ability to date the paint on the prop
Looking at the curvature of the scratches It is easy to gauge that the impact of the blade had to be plunging vertically into dirt. Sometimes in training, recruits were known to hit the brakes too hard and stuff the nose of the trainer into the ground. Often enough, embarrassing trophies would be awarded for wrecking a perfectly good airplane in aviation, like say... when wandering onto the verge and accidentally pranging a prop.
Y'know, being a person who loves WWII aviation, after I have thought about it. I think there is a bunch you can tell about this prop tip. First of all it seems obvious the prop was spinning... BUT the groundspeed of the plane was low (taxiing maybe), because the prop tip was not bent backwards and there is still paint on it ... I'd have to say it was probably either a dirt/grass runway it hit or the dirt verge of a paved one.
if you could find out where the Vet served,Hellcats,Corsairs,P40'sP38's were mostly The Pacific Theater....P51's,..Thunderbolts etc..were mostly European Theater,...Too small to be a bomber propellor tip,,,,,Cool find!...i hope you do a update vid if you find out
As a former airfield firefighter I can tell you when the wheels are up the prop gets bent up and the engine gets tore up. The props bend back, can you tell if it was cut off? I have never seen parts of a prop fall off. Having said all that I have a feeling it might be from a single engine plane maybe a fighter. I will look around
Or a trophy for bringing in a damaged/mechanically troubled plane and getting it on the ground without dying. Perhaps an overshot runway, for lack of brakes or a collapsed landing gear after touchdown. Hard to say for certain, BUT clearly this was a memento of military service. I don't know how equipped the local colleges are but one must have the ability to date the paint on the prop
queenofyeay 3 weeks ago
@queenofyeay Thanks for all the great help with the piece. I would love to know the story behind it. Will
terminal99 3 weeks ago
Looking at the curvature of the scratches It is easy to gauge that the impact of the blade had to be plunging vertically into dirt. Sometimes in training, recruits were known to hit the brakes too hard and stuff the nose of the trainer into the ground. Often enough, embarrassing trophies would be awarded for wrecking a perfectly good airplane in aviation, like say... when wandering onto the verge and accidentally pranging a prop.
queenofyeay 3 weeks ago
Y'know, being a person who loves WWII aviation, after I have thought about it. I think there is a bunch you can tell about this prop tip. First of all it seems obvious the prop was spinning... BUT the groundspeed of the plane was low (taxiing maybe), because the prop tip was not bent backwards and there is still paint on it ... I'd have to say it was probably either a dirt/grass runway it hit or the dirt verge of a paved one.
queenofyeay 3 weeks ago
Probably a trophy, a piece of the propeller from the first plane him and his buddies shot down.
evanl100 1 month ago
@evanl100 That's a good thought. The imagination can run wild thinking of all the possible stories. Too bad we will never know the truth. Will
terminal99 1 month ago
Yellow paint? It's Chinese! - lol
ArizonaPublic 1 month ago
It looks like sand cast aluminum from the flat back. But other than that, I am not sure.
GrizzlyGroundswell 1 month ago
@GrizzlyGroundswell Thanks, Will
terminal99 1 month ago
if you could find out where the Vet served,Hellcats,Corsairs,P40'sP38's were mostly The Pacific Theater....P51's,..Thunderbolts etc..were mostly European Theater,...Too small to be a bomber propellor tip,,,,,Cool find!...i hope you do a update vid if you find out
pfcwar5150 1 month ago
@pfcwar5150 I could not find out anything other than he served in WW2. Will
terminal99 1 month ago
P-51 Mustang, I will send you the link.
TheNinjaPicker 1 month ago
As a former airfield firefighter I can tell you when the wheels are up the prop gets bent up and the engine gets tore up. The props bend back, can you tell if it was cut off? I have never seen parts of a prop fall off. Having said all that I have a feeling it might be from a single engine plane maybe a fighter. I will look around
TheNinjaPicker 1 month ago
@TheNinjaPicker Thanks for the help! It would be neat to have a piece of a P-51. Will
terminal99 1 month ago
landing gear panel?? to protect the landing gear wheel.
DELTA912420 1 month ago
Judging from the angle of the gouges, I'd say that plane went down hard.
johnr316 1 month ago
@johnr316 I think you're right. Will
terminal99 1 month ago